Chapter 4: What Do We Want to Build for Our Future?
Rudolph Alinsky
Estimated, February 2024
About 21 months after outbreak
California
Season 3
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"What's the matter, Rudolph?" Steve asked me. We were all taking a break from walking for the day. We were held up in some sort of hotel in the middle of Los Angeles. So many of the dead were flooding the streets, so we stuck to the back alleyways. We were supposed to be scavenging the place for food and supplies, but I chose not to help.
"Just thinking about Edin and Aaron," I responded as I spun effortlessly in a swivel chair behind the check-in desk.
"You knew them even before all of this; I get it. That's an unbreakable bond. I knew a few people like that, too. Joshua, DJ, Eli, and Abby were friends of mine before everything, and I know how you probably feel guilty. I felt guilty when they all died, but that feeling passes because eventually you realize that it's not your fault." He pulled me off the chair and into a hug. It felt nice to hear something like that. But I still felt guilty. They were my friends; Edin saved my life, and I couldn't save hers.
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Ethan Warren
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We hadn't found a new community yet. No one else seemed to be as stupid as us to willingly spend their time in the city with hardly any ammunition and broken weapons. It was coming down to us starting to think about building our own home purely out of despair. I didn't want to do that; it felt like there could be too much room for error. The supplies to build the walls would be too much work to find, and then we would have to think of ways to keep them from falling—not the walls, but rather what's inside the walls.
I knew that Leah would rather we build something new, and I wanted to agree with her; I really did, but doing something like that takes time. Time wasn't something we knew we had. We needed a solution that was quick and efficient, ensuring our immediate needs were met. Additionally, constructing a home from scratch would require extensive knowledge and expertise, which we lacked.
I wanted to believe that if we did actually find a community out here, I'd be able to trust it, but I knew I wouldn't be able to. After everything that's happened, I knew I wouldn't be able to spend one night there without being completely paranoid.
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After Death (Completed)
HorrorPeople fear death for many reasons. For some, the fear of what comes after. The fear of being forgotten. A threat to the meaningfulness of life. Being forced to stop life projects. This was what the world feared before. Now, what we fear is what w...
